City makes haste to fix dangerous rusted cover
It took years for rust to eat its way through the lid on a sewer service access hole, but only a few days for the city to fix it.
One of our columns earlier this month was about a rust-eaten cover on a trap used to clean out the sewer service line to a home on Aldwych Ave., in the worst possible location: just steps from the front door.
The cover looked like it would collapse if anyone stepped on it. But because the house is so close to the street, the walkway to the front door is within the road allowance, making it the city’s problem.
Lyne Kyle, who deals with media for Toronto Water, emailed last week to say “crews confirmed that the rusted cover is for a cleanout used to access the sewer service pipe” to the home. “They also discovered that the city’s portion of the service had a number of cracks. They have been working closely with residents to ensure they are informed of the work. Repairs should be completed within the next few days.”
We went there and saw that the concrete walkway to the house had been removed to fix the sewer pipe. It has yet to be replaced.
Also this month, we reported on a street light that was on night and day, at the corner of Vivian Rd. and Gleneita St., near Brimley and St. Clair Aves., to the dismay of an area resident.
She had reported it twice to 311 and was told it had been looked after, but the light continued to twinkle 24/7.
Tori Gass, a spokesperson for Toronto Hydro, which is responsible for street lights, emailed to say a crew first repaired the light in mid-February, adding it seems to be a recurring problem. We went back to check last week and found that the light is off during the day.
We also wrote this month about a hand well missing its cover, in a sidewalk on the south side of Wilson Ave., west of Dufferin St., creating a serious tripping hazard.
Roads manager Norberto Santos emailed to say: “After exhausting all our efforts on finding the owner of this hand well we decided to no longer wait and made some hard temporary repairs. The contents of the hand well were protected with a barrier and then it was filled with hot asphalt. The sidewalk is now safe, with no obstruction to pedestrians. We will continue to search for the rightful owner so that appropriate repairs can be made.” What’s broken in your neighbourhood? Wherever you are in Greater Toronto, we want to know. Email jlakey@thestar.ca.